By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Ágnes Hranitzky | Béla Tarr
Starring: Erika Bók | János Derzsi | Mihály Kormos | Ricsi
Original language title: A Torinói ló
Country: france, germany, hungary, switzerland, united_states
Year: 2012
Running time: 146
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1316540/
Thom says: “In 1889 German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche witnessed the flagellation of a horse while traveling in Turin, Italy. He tossed his arms o’er the horse’s neck to safeguard it then collapsed to the soil. In less than one month, Nietzsche would be diagnosed with a grave cerebral disorder that would make him bed-ridden and speechless for the ensuing eleven years until his demise. This film supposedly tells us what happened to the horse. At TIFF 2007 I saw Tarr’s THE MAN FROM LONDON with my friend Bruce Kingsley knowing absolutely nothing about this revered Hungarian director. I picked the film because one of its stars was Tilda Swinton. I’ll always remember when an audience member after the film asked Tarr why he had used Swinton and he responded, ‘Why wouldn’t I, she’s one of the world’s most respected actors?’ At any rate, back to THE TURIN HORSE: I learned at the showing that this was to be Tarr’s last film, although we didn’t learn why he was ending his film career at the relatively young age of 55. Clocking in at 146 minutes I felt that after the film I’d been in the theatre for 146 agonizing hours, it was that slow-moving. The man with the horse returns to has remote and barren farm where he lives with his dull daughter. For the next 5 days we see them go through their deadly monotonous routine with nothing of special note happening other than their horse (Ricsi) breaking down, a visit from a disgruntled neighbor, and a band of grungy gypsies passing though their property. Still, in this context we see hints that the world is coming to an end, which somewhat sparks up the relevance of
what I was watching. After I had seen THE MAN FROM LONDON I made a special project of trying to catch all of Tarr’s earlier films and I did manage to see THE OUTSIDER (1981), THE PREFAB PEOPLE (1982), ALMANAC OF FALL (1984), DAMNATION (1988), & his best film WRECKMEISTER HARMONIES (2000). And now his cinema career is at an end. 2.5 cats”
Bruce says: “The idea for THE TURIN HORSE evolved from a bit of folklore. Nietzsche supposedly witnessed a farmer beating a dray horse. Out of compassion Nietzsche threw his arms around the horse’s neck and then fell to the ground. He subsequently became speechless and bed-ridden until his death seven years later.
“THE TURIN HORSE is not a film for everyone. In close to two and one half hours there are only a few lines of dialogue. The story is nothing short of depressing. So why bother? First the storytelling is in the hands of a true master filmmaker. Noted for his long takes – the ASL (Average Shot Length) of THE TURIN HORSE is 229.2 seconds as opposed to THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM which has an ASL of 1.7-2.8 seconds, depending on who is measuring – Tarr forces the viewer to become immersed in the particular time and place of his films. Consequently, one almost shares the despair and desolation of his
characters.
“As the film begins we see a horse and cart driven furiously through a bleak countryside until horse and driver arrive at a remote stone farmhouse with a detached barn. The horse, an aged dappled mare with a mangy coat, is put away for the night by the farmer and his daughter. Their house is sparsely furnished: a wooden table, a couple of stools, a side table by the sink and two day beds.
“The story unfolds during the next six days during which there is a devastating windstorm of biblical proportion. Each day we follow the routine of farmer and daughter. It is not traditional. She undresses her father at night and dresses him in the early
morning. They each have specific chores, some of which are shared. The one daily meal consists of one large boiled potato
for each of them. Routinely they peel the skin off the piping hot potato with their bare hands before ravenously attack the inside. Mysteriously they never seem to eat the whole potato as though they were not entitled for such a bountiful meal. Remains are scooped into a slosh bucket. Conversation is utilitarian, Spartan in fact: no opinions are offered; no likes or dislikes voiced; no discussion occurs. Humor is an unknown commodity.
“Each day the daughter is the first to rise; after donning many layers of woolens, her first task is stoking the fire in the wood stove. The wind howls as she makes her early morning trip to the well for water. She methodically fills her two household metal buckets from the wooden bucket that is tied to the side of the well and lowered several times to accomplish her task. Later they tend to the horse, muck out the stall and giver her hay. Each day the horse eats less and less, finally turning away from the fodder. On the penultimate day, the horse refuses to drink. The following day, when the storm finally subsides, the well is dry. Harsh reality dictates that the farmer and his daughter must move on. But is that possible? Slowly they load their belongings onto a hand cart which the daughter pulls and the father pushes up the long winding road to the top of the hill where a lone tree punctuates the windswept countryside. The final scene is one of the most heart-breaking ever captured on film.
“The black and white cinematography is superb. Tarr choses to film each of the repetitive tasks in a slightly different perspective from one day to the next, so that we always discover something new rather than become mired in more-of-the-same fixation. Frequently the camera is stationary and the lens often lingers after the characters and action have moved in and out of view.
“Tarr’s vision is unique. Sadly, he announced that THE TURIN HORSE is his final film. One can only hope he reconsiders. 5 cats”